The July 23, 2007 Times crossword by Randall J. Hartman featured an interrelated group running from POST through TOPS, including POTS, SPOT and STOP contained within LOBSTER POTS, NEW YORK POST, SUN SPOT, BACKSTOP and TANK TOPS. I mused at that time how many times I’ve sat at a STOP sign and contemplated its' anagrams! With that crossword, it was hoped that perhaps in a future puzzle we’d also get OPTS, as many drivers read STOP signs as optional!

HEAD / BAND(35A. With 37-Across, hair accessory … or a literal hint to 19-, 27-, 47- and 56-Across), along with the first word of QUEEN ANNE’S LACE (19A. Wildflower from which the cultivated carrot originated),KISS OF DEATH (27A. Something that is ultimately ruinous),TRAFFIC CONE (47A. Orange item set out by a highway crew) and CREAM OF THE CROP (56A. Very best) are the interrelated group of this melodious Monday crossword.

"Then there is the beefsteak. They have it in Europe, but they don't know how to cook it. Neither will they cut it right. It comes on the table in a small, round, pewter platter. It lies in the centre of this platter, in a bordering bed of grease-soaked potatoes; it is the size, shape, and thickness of a man's hand with the thumb and fingers cut off. It is a little overdone, is rather dry, it tastes pretty insipidly, it rouses no enthusiasm. Imagine a poor exile contemplating that inert thing," he sniffed scornfully; "and imagine an angel suddenly sweeping down out of a better land and setting before him a mighty porter-house steak an inch and a half thick, hot and sputtering from the griddle; dusted with fragrant pepper; enriched with little melting bits of butter of the most unimpeachable freshness and genuineness; the precious juices of the meat trickling out and joining the gravy, archipelagoed with mushrooms; a township or two of tender, yellowish fat gracing an outlying district of this ample county of beefsteak; the long white bone which divides the sirloin from the tenderloin still in its place; and imagine that the angel also adds a great cup of American home-made coffee, with the cream a-froth on top, some real butter, firm and yellow and fresh, some smoking hot biscuits, a plate of hot buckwheat cakes, with transparent syrup, could words describe the gratitude of this exile?" ~ Mark Twain (1835-1910) expressing his disdain for European notions about preparing and serving a piece of meat. 'A Tramp Abroad'

THE TREE LIGHTING CEREMONY(148A. “Annual Manhattan event [represented symbolically in this puzzle]), along with nineteen squares containing the word “ON”, THE WEDNESDAY AFTER THANKSGIVING(3D. With 5-Down, when 148-Across traditionally takes place),ROCKEFELLER CENTER (15D. Where 148-Across takes place),NORWAY SPRUCE (17D. Traditional centerpiece of 148-Across) and ON SWITCH (120D. Start for 148-Across?) constitutes the interrelated group of this challenging but cheerful Sunday crossword.

The “ON” group across — ALL ON RED, ONION, ONE IRON, ON AUCTION, ON THE BUTTON, BIG ON, ONSET, EMOTIONAL, I’M ON TO YOU, OBLONGS, TONY TONI TONE, IRONIST and NONE. The corresponding downs — AVON, DELMONTE, HER HONOR, FONDA, LONG I, ION STORM, RONETTES, MONK, BONO, CON-MAN, MON AMI, CANYON, ON A SPREE, ON SIMMER, ON SWITCH, ON THE ICE, ON BUDGET and ETONS. I didn’t catch “ON” until the rest of the puzzle was all lit up!

Is bigger better? I don’t know… Today’s crossword is 23x23 (21x21 is the usual) and sports approximately 60 more clues than the regular Sunday puzzle for many small words and abbreviations in a very fragmented grid — even coloring in the “ON” squares in red, does not take one’s eye away from the multitude of black squares fragmenting the grid. Not a complaint, just an… observation! O.K. then, hit the ON SWITCH!

“O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,

Thy candles shine out brightly!

Each bough doth hold its tiny light,

That makes each toy to sparkle bright

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree

Thy candles shine out brightly!”~ English version of last verse of “O Tannenbaum”

FIRST ONE TO BLINK(7D. Defeated contestant in a face-off) and THE BIGGEST LOSER (32A. Show in which many pots disappear?) are the featured entries of this vicious Saturday crossword, along with such fare as STEEL JAWS (31D. Features of some bear traps), FAST DRAW (7A. Duel action),BRAVE and FREE RANGE (47D. Unlike chickens; 6D. Like some chickens) and all other manner of WELTER15A. Confusion).

Other — ARF ARF reappears from last week, then clued as "dog‘s bark," this time "Reaction from one who has a bone to pick,"BAIL and JAIL dovetail (33D. Cost to get out of 46-Across), BOBBLEHEAD (47A. Bouncer in a sports stadium?), CALAMARI (52A. Mediterranean appetizer),FLAT NOTE (3D. Harmony spoiler),IDLE RICH (16A. Working class’s antithesis),SALE ITEM(35D. Something intended to move fast), SENIORITIS (22A. High-class affliction?),SODA JERK(59A. Float maker),THE RAVEN (57A. It uses 20 different end rhymes for “ore”).

Three film titles, ICE STATION ZEBRA(16A. 1968 Rock Hudson action film),MARK OF ZORRO (30A. 1940 Tyrone Power adventure film, with “The”) and PRISONER OF ZENDA (46A. 1937 Ronald Colman adventure film, with “The”) are the interrelated group of this fine Friday crossword.

Other — COASTER(51A. Thing under a tumbler),EVASION, GRIPPER, HARVARD (14A. Lamont Library locale),INDEX FINGER (17D. Telephone dialer?) running right up the center of the crossword like a statement of sorts!, LIBRETTO (11D. Book), MILITIAS (30D. Revolutionary War groups),PER DIEM, RESERVE(33D. What things may be held in), AtomSMASHER, TERNATE(12D. Like a clover leaf), TERSELY (53A. Without any gas?), WRITHED (1A. Showed great discomfort).

POKER HAND(65A. What the answer to each starred clue is),ROYAL FLUSH(50A. *Sound from a palace bathroom?),FOUR ACES (10D. *Group with the 1951 hit “Tell Me Why,“ with “the”),FULL HOUSE (17A. *What “S.R.O.” indicates),THREE KINGS (27A. *The Magi, e.g.), and TWO PAIRS (40D. *Makeup of a double date) are the interrelated group of this Tuesday crossword.

Hah! Canadian bacon can be used to purchase CANADIAN BACON(20A. Meal money in Manitoba?), Monterey jack for the cheese MONTEREY JACK(34A. Meal money in California?), Italian bread for a loaf of ITALIAN BREAD(41A. Meal money in Tuscany?) and Boston lettuce for a head of BOSTON LETTUCE(56AA. Meal money in Massachusetts?) — that's the interrelated group of this mild Monday crossword.

Other — AGITATO (43D. Energetically, in music),GOING FAR (11D. On the path to great success), ERENESTO (44D. Che Guevara’s given name), MADISON (5D. President after Jefferson),MAMA BEAR (38D. Who owned the too-soft bed that Goldilocks tried), STRANGE (9D. Eerie).

ACROSTIC, Puzzle by Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon, edited by Will Shortz

This Sunday’s pre-Thanksgiving food-stuffed acrostic feast draws a quotation from Les Menus Plaisirs, a short story from Michèle Roberts’ collection Playing Sardines. Food, however, is not the only thing on the menu.

Playing Sardines - a game in the dark, a game about desire, about wanting, all whipped up in a tale about the erotic allure of recipes: a cook whose obsessive love turns hungry and dangerous; a fan who tries to get into a celebrity novelist's sheets; a fanatical dieter and maker of lists working out how to deal with a husband who snores; a faddy eater thrown off-course by a miracle; a child greedy for love who faces up to her demon of jealousy - just some of the characters who shape this wonderful collection. Women yearning for what they haven't got - prepared to be wily, deceptive, cunning and perverse - all these strategies for survival in love and life are deployed here to mouth-watering effect. ~ Amazon.com

The quotation: OUR FATHER LIKED HIS FOOD BUT IT HAD TO BE BRITISH PAELLA SPAGHETTI AND COUSCOUS WERE FORBIDDEN SUITORS AT OUR DOOR NO DAUGHTER OF MINE OUR FATHER SEEMED TO IMPLY WILL KEEP COMPANY WITH A SWEET POTATO A MANGO OR YAM

The author’s name an the title of the work: ROBERTS PLAYING SARDINES

The defined words (all relating to food):

A. Handouts from quartermasters,RATIONSB. Past expiration (3 wds.),OUT OF DATEC. Descriptive of some oak-aged Chardonnays,BUTTERYD. Legendary French chef who wrote “Le Guide Culinaire”, ESCOFFIERE. Lean cut of beef (2 wds.),RUMP STEAKF. Meant to be tossed after use,THROWAWAYG. Beverage made in a blender,SMOOTHIEH. Like fruits and vegetables, typically, PERISHABLEI. Kind of diet that typically emphasizes fruits and vegetables (hyph.),LOW-FATJ. Kind of soup named for the morsels in it,ALPHABETK. Season for glogg and lutefisk, in Scandinavia, YULETIDEL. Like products from foreign lands, IMPORTEDM. Patron of a 24-hour diner, maybe (2 wds.),NIGHT OWLN. Brand peddled by truck drivers (2 wds.),GOOD HUMORO. Eating from the same dish, SHARINGP. Neil Simon’s “Maxim’s of the disenfranchised”, AUTOMATQ. Cubra libre, essentially (3 wds.),RUM AND COKER. Pastry said to originate in Vienna, DANISHS. Accessible to someone out to lunch? (hyph.),IDIOT-PROOFT. Ingredients for pad thai or tuna casserole, NOODLESU. Enjoyer of fine cuisine, gourmet, EPICUREV. Place to find scallops, oysters or clams, SEABED

In “Les Menus Plaisirs”, a short story from her recent collection Playing Sardines, Roberts even gives an example of what one could term “food racism”. The narrator’s father refused to eat anything but English food; suet pudding, Eccles cake, Bakewell tart, kippers, bitter marmalade, Cheddar cheese, toad-in-the-hole, bangers and mash, bacon sandwiches, and oxtail soup are all to his taste. Foreign food, however, has no chance. No courgettes, aubergines, garlic, or olive oil are allowed on his plate, and he is outraged when his daughter prepares a ratatouille for him: “None of your filthy foreign muck in my house”, he shouts before throwing the dish out of the window The narrator sums up, “food was treated like gentlemen callers in a Victorian novel: it was interrogated as to its intentions, its culture and origins. Paella, spaghetti and couscous were forbidden suitors at our door. No daughter of mine, our father seemed to imply, will keep company with a sweet potato, a mango, a yam.Making Sense: Sense Perception in the British Novel of the 1980s and 1990s by Ralf Hertel